It is well known that a proper swing and good hand eye coordination are essential elements for any baseball/softball player to possess in order to be a successful batter. There are many batting training/practice devices which are commercially available that allow a batter to practice these various elements. For example and without limitation, one well known training/practice device involves a ball which is coupled to a pair of tethers, and which is designed to be coupled to a desired object, such as a tree or a basketball pole.
Particularly, this well known training/practice device allows a batter to repeatedly swing a baseball/softball bat at a slowly moving target (i.e., the ball attached to the tethers). Once the ball has been struck by the bat, the ball forces the tethers to wrap around the desired object and, upon the tethers becoming fully wrapped around the desired object, the ball then recoils or returns along the path at which it was propelled (i.e., struck by the bat), thereby allowing the user to swing the bat at the slowly moving target over and over again. The objectives sought by this well known training/practice device, which are commercially advertised, are to provide hand-eye coordination.
Although this well known training/practice device may increase a batter's hand-eye coordination upon repeated use, this well known device does suffer from some drawbacks. For example and without limitation, this training/practice device does not allow for a batter to repeatedly practice/train the muscles in their body to correctly reproduce a desired swing line. That is, this device allows a user or batter to contact the ball despite the fact that the batter may be utilizing an improper swing line or improper form. If the batter strikes the bottom of the ball, the ball will continue to wrap around the desired object. Likewise, if the batter strikes the top of the ball, the ball will continue to wrap around the desired object, thereby allowing a batter to practice/train batting with an improper swing line while concomitantly deceiving the batter that he/she is practicing a correct swing and training the muscles of the batter to remember an incorrect swing line. Moreover, this device is not designed to be utilized indoors in a conventional home.
In further example and without limitation, a well known methodology for increasing hand-eye coordination for a batter involves a batter placing a baseball/softball bat upon his/her shoulder, removing one hand from the bat, utilizing the removed hand to toss a ball vertically in the air, placing the removed hand back upon the bat, and swinging at the ball which is descending towards the ground. This known methodology may improve hand-eye coordination but it does suffer from some drawbacks.
That is, this known methodology does not allow a user to practice a correct swing line or train correct muscle memory for a correct swing line (i.e., the user may strike the ball with an improper swing), does not allow a user to practice a correct stance, does not allow a user enough time to practice a correct swing before the ball hits the ground, and does not allow a user to repeatedly practice the same certain desired swing line (e.g., a home-run swing line, a line-drive swing line, or a ground-ball swing line). Moreover, this well known methodology may not be conducive to indoor training. That is, conventional homes typically do not include a surface area or wall that may be repeatedly struck by a baseball or softball without suffering from damage. Also, conventional homes do not include a ceiling that is high enough to afford an individual enough time to toss a ball into the air and prepare to swing a bat properly.
In final example and without limitation, one well known methodology for increasing hand-eye coordination involves the utilization of conventional batting cages, wherein a machine propels a ball at a batter and allows the batter to swing at the propelled ball. Although conventional batting cages may increase hand-eye coordination, they do suffer from some drawbacks. That is, conventional batting cages do not allow a user to practice a correct swing line (i.e., the user may strike the ball with an improper swing), does not allow a batter to practice timing and muscle memory because the batter only knows when to swing the bat after the ball has been propelled towards them (i.e., there is substantially no warning that the next pitch is coming in a conventional batting cage), and does not allow a user to repeatedly practice the same certain desired swing line (e.g., a home-run swing line, a line-drive swing line, or a ground-ball swing line) because conventional batting cages do not reproduce the same exact pitch every time. Rather, conventional batting cages oftentimes propel the balls towards the batter at a different angle; height, speed, spin, and/or the like every single pitch, thereby obviating practicing the exact same swing line every single time. Moreover, construction of a conventional batting cage within the interior of a conventional home requires a substantial amount of space within the home, a substantial amount of expenditure to build, and is typically too large to fit within a conventional home.
There is therefore a need for an assembly which allows a batter to train/practice a proper swing line in an effective manner. There is still a further need for an assembly which allows an individual to train/practice a proper swing line inside substantially any desired structure as well as outdoors. There is also a need for an assembly which allows a batter to increase hand-eye coordination and muscle memory for a correct swing line in a manner which overcomes some or all of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior sports training/practicing assemblies and methodologies.